Silent Songbird, Sing for Me (Original)
by Kalani Kista
Summary: Anthro AU: Goldie and his friends are in their second year of college at an arts school. This year, though, things are very different; Goldie and Foxy's roommates are odd, Freddy is feeling strange around his friends Bonnie and Chica, and... Currently being rewritten. This version will not be updated anymore.
1. Arc I, Part I

**This A/N is important, but all of this info can also be found on my profile.**

 **Pairings:** Goldie/Spring(trap), Foxy/Mike, Freddy/Chica/Bonnie, Alfred(Toy Freddy)/Bonsai(Toy Bonnie), Marion/Jeremy, Endie(the attached endoskeleton)/Vixy (Mangle), Paul(PG)/Patrick("Purple Guy")

 **Further notes are on my profile. If you have any questions that are answered there, I will direct you there. If you have any questions not answered there, I will add it to my profile.**

 **Warnings** : Anthro AU, college AU, Human/Non-human pairing, homosexuality, polygamy/polyamory, transexual/transgender, transphobia, PG/PG (although "Purple Guy" is not a murderer in this story), mentions of illnesses, physical & mental abuse, suicidal thoughts/self harm, etc. **IN THIS STORY, "Purple Guy" is not a bad person, he's just one of those people who hate people as a collective group.**

I write the full arc before posting the first part. However, Arc I is the only arc I'll be posting together.

 **Disclaimer** : I own NONE of these characters.

* * *

" _Music, once admitted to the soul, becomes a sort of spirit, and never dies._ _"_

Edward Bulwer-Lytton

* * *

 **-Arc 1, Part I: Moving In-**

"For the record, this year I do _not_ want to room with Foxy. His mess invaded my side of the room last year and I could've sworn it was going to eat me in my sleep!"

The group in the silver Sienna laughed at the golden bear's declaration. The red fox in question, Foxy, nudged his friend a bit and said with a grin, "To be fair, I don't want to room with you either. I nearly killed myself tripping on your music stand _at least_ once a week!"

"You were the one always coming in after I went to sleep," the bear shot back with a smug grin. "Besides, you're the one who dropped one of your props- and refused to move it- right where I stored my stand. You know, on _my side of the room._ "

"Goldie, give him a break," a purple rabbit laughed at his friends' 'argument.' "This is _Foxy_ we're talking about. He's a pirate!"

The group began laughing even more as the driver, Goldie, pulled onto the college campus. All five beings in the car were returning for their second year, all of them determined to be the best they could be and still have fun. Honestly none of them were really looking to make new friends; they had everything they could need already.

"You could always room with me," one of Goldie's brothers told him with a chuckle, to which Goldie immediately responded with,

"Oh no, I am _not_ rooming with you _or_ Alfred. You two would drive me insane, Freddy!" The group laughed even more.

"Like I'll even be in your dorm room," the youngest bear laughed, opening the door and hopping out as they parked. He went around to the back of Goldie's silver Sienna and opened the trunk to grab his suitcases and bags. "Knowing me I'll be stuck with complete strangers again. The guy last year was _way_ too upbeat and friendly, I swore he was going to smother me while I slept."

"How do you get "smother me while I sleep" from "upbeat and friendly"?" The rabbit asked his younger friend, also grabbing his own belongings. Alfred looked at the rabbit with a very flat expression.

"I was pretty sure he was a sociopath, Bonnie."

Bonnie chuckled and shook his head. "I don't think upbeat and friendly is exactly sociopathic behavior, Al."

"I'm pretty sure it was," Alfred replied simply, waiting for his brothers and friends to gather their belongings. Once they had everything, Goldie reached up and pulled the trunk shut, listening as it latched in place.

"Don't be so paranoid, Alfred," Freddy chuckled.

"I'm not paranoid!"

Goldie shook his head at his younger brothers' antics. "Chica and Vixy will be here soon," he called over their voices. "Let's go get our room numbers and get settled in, I'd like to be done before lunch. Chica will be annoyed if we're late again and make them wait longer than necessary."

"Very true," Bonnie agreed and began walking towards the school's boys' dorm. The other four were quick to follow the tall rabbit, not wanting to be left behind.

They reached the dorm soon enough and went to the front desk in the ground floor office to sign in and get their room keys. Before signing in, as there was a bit of a line, the group decided to look at the list of names and dorms that was posted on the wall. Goldie's eyes scanned the list before laughing. "We're all on the third floor," he said. "I'm in the same room as last year. 2B."

"Really? I'm in 2A," Freddy mused. "With Foxy, Bonnie, and someone named... Mike Schmidt? Huh..."

"I'm with Goldie," Alfred noted. "And more strangers. Marion Strings and Durrell Franks. Hey, Marion- that name's familiar. I think he was one of my roommates who was in the other bedroom with some guy named Fritz. Never actually saw the guy, I think he was taking night classes..."

"Well, at least he's not a total stranger then," Foxy chuckled. "I'm probably stuck with this Mike guy, since Freddy likes Bonnie more."

"Hey, I do not like any of my friends better than the other," Freddy immediately denied. Foxy smirked.

"So I can room with you?"

"I already claimed Freddy," Bonnie jumped in, nudging Foxy. "Besides, Freddy would probably murder you in your sleep if he had to room with you." The group all laughed because they knew it was absolutely true. Freddy was a neat freak. Not quite OCD neat freak, but everything had a place with Freddy, and one speck of dust on something of _his_ , including _his floor_ , was unacceptable. Foxy, on the other hand, was more of a "where it lands it stays" kind of guy...

"Aye, that's a good point. I don't know how you can survive, Bonnie!" The others laughed a bit while Freddy rolled his eyes. "C'mon, lads, looks like the line has shortened a bit. Let's go get signed in."

* * *

When Goldie and Alfred arrived at 2B, right across from Freddy, Bonnie, and Foxy's room, the golden bear unlocked the door and walked inside, glancing around. It was exactly as he remembered it. There was a sitting area with two couches- one against the left wall and the other caddy corner-, a round coffee table, and a television that was a few years old stationed against the opposite wall. There were four doors from this common room; two next to each other leading into two decent-sized bedrooms where there were two decently-sized twin beds and two small desks at the foot of each, and two more doors across from each other. They lead to two bathrooms, since one bathroom for four people wasn't a good setup. It was hard enough with two people per bathroom...

The golden bear took a closer glance at the TV and grinned as he saw a shallow gouge mark in the side. It had been caused by Foxy when he tripped, instinctively trying to grab the television to save himself from falling. Foxy, however, had been wearing a prop hook instead of his usual prosthetic hand, and instead of saving himself he simply left a noticeable mark on the television's side. They had joked that until the school replaced the TVs, they had left their mark and their "legacy" would go on. Even Freddy had eventually come to accept the scratch as a proper part of it instead of as damage.

Alfred's voice yanked him out of his memory. "I'll take the room on the left," Alfred told him. "Hopefully this Marion and Durrell don't actually know each other and chose separate rooms, I so don't want to be stuck rooming with you."

"Aww, why not baby brother?"

"Goldie, I'm only about twenty minutes younger than you. Besides, you said you don't want to room with _me_ first!"

"Closer to thirty, and still the youngest," Goldie laughed cheekily. "That makes you the baby. And so what if I said it first?" He grinned at the younger bear.

"And _this_ is why I can't share a room with you," Alfred sighed overdramatically, giving a knock on the left door before opening it in case someone was inside.

"Wouldn't matter, I think both rooms have already been claimed anyway," Goldie called as he stepped inside the right door. The bed and desk on the right side of the room had already been claimed. The dresser-drawers underneath the bed were slightly opened, but a single suitcase still lay on the bed with some shirts and pants neatly stacked up next to it. It was as if the owner had realized halfway through unpacking that he was missing something and ran off to get it. At the end of the bed, in the gap between it and the desk, lay something covered in a blue blanket with either notebooks or sketchbooks piled up on top. Goldie assumed it was simply another suitcase because, seriously, who only packs one suitcase to travel somewhere you'll be living for more than half a year? The desk also had several stacks of sketchbooks, many looking old and worn, as well as pencils and strange drawing utensils Goldie had neither seen before nor had any interest in learning about. The storage shelf/rack above the desk was empty.

Goldie turned his attention to his own side of the room and began quickly unpacking, making sure to be neat but not exactly meticulous. He wanted to get it over with so he could go get some food and finally meet Bonnie's younger brother. He honestly had no interest in meeting his roommate- he was just a studio art student, if the sketchbooks were anything to go by- but Bonnie had mentioned his brother being another musician so Goldie was at least somewhat interested in talking to him. Plus, it was Bonnie's brother they had heard so much about since middle school...

Once he was finished, he stacked his suitcases carefully on the shelf, not wanting them to come crashing down on him while he was writing an essay as they had done the year before. Then he headed out of the bedroom and over to Alfred's. He knocked on the door. "Al, you ready to go? Hurry up or we'll be late." The bear then opened the door to see how far his brother was in unpacking; like Freddy, Alfred was almost obsessive about every object having its own place.

The first thing he noticed, however, were the thick black curtains over the window blocking out all of the sunlight. Sitting on the bed to the far left was a pale human with dark black hair. He was sitting against the wall and seemed to be sketching something. He only glanced up briefly to acknowledge the elder bear's entrance before turning his attention back to his sketchbook. He seemed to be wearing a black and white cloak with the hood pulled down... honestly, he was kind of creepy in Goldie's opinion, but Alfred didn't seem too bothered at all.

Alfred rolled his eyes at his brother. "Be patient, Gold," he mock-scolded. "I'm straightening up my desk."

"You can do that later," Goldie told him. "If you keep doing that we'll miss meeting Bonnie's brother."

"Woah wait, Bonnie's brother?"

Goldie gave Alfred a look that clearly read 'are you kidding me?' "Yeah, Bonnie's brother. Remember?"

"I... totally forgot we were supposed to meet him," Alfred admitted sheepishly.

"Idiot... Well come on, the room looks fine," Goldie laughed a bit while rolling his eyes. "Let's go meet up with Bonnie, Freddy, and Foxy and go get the girls."

"Right, right, coming," Alfred nodded, setting his desk lamp down before going over. Alfred gave a small polite wave to his roommate as they shut the door.

As soon as they left the common room, Goldie couldn't help but blurt out, "He's kinda creepy."

"Aw, Goldie, don't judge based on appearance," Alfred scolded for real this time. "He's a real nice guy. He was polite to me. Though he did tell me if I opened the curtains during the daytime he would strangle me..."

"What?!"

"Kidding!" Alfred laughed at Goldie's expression. "He simply asked if I'd be considerate enough to not open the curtains so long as he was in the room and to leave a note on the door when they were open. I guess he has photosensitivity."

Goldie sighed a bit. "Don't freak me out like that," he muttered. "Anyway, looks like we both have artists for roomies. I didn't see my roommate but he had like fifty sketchbooks on and around his desk." He glared at Freddy's door. "They're not done?" he sighed and knocked loudly. It was the fox who opened, looking highly amused.

"Hey there, laddies," Foxy laughed, letting the brothers in. "For once it's not Freddy holding us up."

"That's a shocker," Alfred laughed, watching as Bonnie walked all around the dorm room with his guitar and guitar stand. "What's Bonnie doing?"

"Apparently looking for the perfect place for his guitar," Freddy cut in with a chuckle. "You'd think seeing his brother for the first time in six years would be more important than that thing."

"Is Bonnie's brother a freshman?" Alfred asked curiously. Sometimes Goldie forgot Alfred wasn't as close to Bonnie as he was to Foxy's sister, and as such Alfred wasn't likely to have been present when Bonnie told them the story.

"No," Freddy answered, shaking his head. "Transferring from another arts college."

"Be right back, lads, I'm gonna leave a note for that Mike boy to let him know which room is still available," Foxy interrupted, heading back to his own room.

"That was random," Goldie muttered to himself.

"So why did Bonnie's brother start at a different college...?"

"Well," Freddy started, but Bonnie interrupted.

"If his caretakers found out he was trying to meet back up with me again, they'd try to throw him into a correctional facility again." Alfred's eyes widened slightly- correctional facility?

"Why would he be in a correctional facility?"

"Traditional family. You'll understand when you meet him," Bonnie answered simply. "Also, Chica texted me saying to meet them at Cynder's, she found Bonsai." Foxy then returned with the note in hand, taping it to the wall between both doors.

"Alright then, lads, let's go!"

* * *

When they reached Cynder's Cafe, there were four people waiting for them; two yellow chickens, one "curvier" than the other but quite obviously related, a white fox with a jagged scar across her right eye, and a rabbit who was taller than the girls, minus Chica, but a lot shorter than Bonnie. Despite the baggy shirt and cargo pants, it was easy to tell that this rabbit was actually female.

"Hey, Bonnie!" Chica called happily, hurrying over to her boyfriend. The other three followed, the blue rabbit seeming unsure how to react to them.

"Hey Chica," Bonnie greeted her with a sweet kiss, then turned to look at the rabbit. "Bonsai!"

Bonsai grinned a bit and crossed his- her?- arms. "What's up, big bro?"

"It's good to see you again, Bonsai," Bonnie chuckled. "Oh, right, introductions. Guys, this is my _brother_." The small stress on 'brother' didn't go unnoticed. A quick glance at Alfred told him that Alfred did, in fact, understand now why Bonnie's super conservative family sent Bonsai away.

"Just call me Bonsai," Bonsai greeted with a wave.

"I'm Frederick Fazbear, but the gang calls me Gold or Goldie," Goldie introduced himself, offering the rabbit his hand to shake. "These are my younger brothers, Freddy and Alfred Fazbear."

"Aiden Fox here, laddie," Foxy introduced with a grin, holding out his right hand. "Just call me Foxy, though."

"Foxy, I swear if you're trying to scare my brother with that stupid prosthetic arm..."

Foxy simply grinned at Bonnie while Bonsai rolled his eyes. "Wouldn't have worked, Bonnie sent me messages about all of you guys, remember? Hell, you guys sent me a message once."

"I didn't," Alfred muttered to himself.

"That's because you were hanging out with Endie and me," Vixy, the white vixen, laughed a bit. "Bonsai's our roommate, so we've already been introduced."

"We should probably go in the cafe before someone thinks we're a gang," Goldie chuckled, heading inside.

"A gang? Have you _seen_ how brightly coloured we all are? And not to mention our clothes- you three Fazbears are practically dressed for church." Laughter followed Foxy's comment, and the group gathered around two tables they pushed together. It was a usual occurrence when the group was on campus, so the cafe owner didn't bat an eye. "So not a gang. But you three _do_ look like freakin mafia bosses." Freddy rolled his eyes at his friend's assessment.

"So where _is_ Endie, anyway?" Goldie asked Vixy, not used to seeing her without the human nearby.

"His car broke down yesterday morning, he won't be here until tomorrow," Vixy answered with a quiet laugh. "His car's in shop right now."

"How exactly did all of you guys meet?" Bonsai questioned suddenly. "Bonnie never told me. Of course, he wasn't able to contact me until a year or two after I was sent away, but still."

"Well," Freddy immediately began to explain. "Goldie, Alfred, and I are triplets. There weren't many twins in our school and when we were younger people kept getting Alfred and I mixed up. This was before my fur darkened..."

"And people kept calling _me_ 'Golden Freddy' for some stupid reason, even though _I'm_ the oldest," Goldie added as a complaint.

"Yes. Anyway," Freddy continued, waving his brother's complaint off, "in fourth grade or so we moved to a new city where we met Foxy, Vixy, and Endie. We bonded with Foxy and Vixy pretty fast over the fact that we all had twins."

"Triplets in our case," Alfred added, "But close enough."

"When we started middle school, Chica joined us," Freddy continued. "She had come from a different elementary school, and she had just discovered she was adopted and that she had a twin sister. They somehow found each other on the internet, probably with one of their mothers' helps, I can't remember the details, and connected there."

"Actually it was my dad's help, but yeah."

Freddy once again ignored the interruption. "Bonnie moved to our district about halfway through the first semester of seventh grade. He also had a twin- which of course you know since _you're_ his twin- but he was really upset when he moved and started school because he had just been separated from his twin and taken away from all of his friends. We easily welcomed him into our group."

"He was so sweet," Chica giggled happily. "Even when he was upset and didn't want to talk to anyone."

"I think you already know that Bonnie asked Chica out in freshman year of high school, and what do you know, they're still together," Freddy chuckled. "Fast forward to college and we all agreed to come here, and Chica somehow convinced her sister to come here too despite it being nearly a thousand miles away from her family, and beginning of last year we all met Chick for the very first time in person. And that's pretty much it."

"Aww, that's not a very funny story," Bonsai said with a mock pout, earning a playful punch from her brother.

"So Bonsai, what program are you in? "Alfred asked. Bonsai gave him a grin.

"Music, of course! Let's be real, ain't nothing better than music," he laughed. Alfred grinned in response.

"Totally! So you play guitar like Bonnie?"

"Of course. I started learning right alongside Bon after all," Bonsai confirmed with a sly grin towards his older brother. "And I am _totally_ better."

"Is that a challenge?" Bonnie asked, eyeing Bonsai critically.

"Duh. We haven't been able to play together for nearly seven years, I'm dying for some _real_ competition." They all began laughing again at the pure tortured look on Bonsai's face. "Oh, you laugh now, but I was surrounded by those people who only wanted me to learn freakin' _hymns._ "

"Ouch," Goldie sympathized, though he couldn't stop laughing. "That sounds like hell."

"You bet your tophat, Fredbear."

Goldie's grin faded, looking perplexed and almost offended. "Fredbear?"

"Yes. Fredbear. Your name is Frederick and your last name is Fazbear. And I find it weird calling you Gold or Goldie. Suck it, loser."

They all began laughing harder at Goldie's expression and Bonsai simply grinned.

"Bonnie, your brother's mean," Goldie whined childishly to the tallest of their friends.

"Hey, I'm not looking to turn him against _me_ ," Bonnie said defensively, raising his hands. "Do you even realize how many embarrassing childhood stories Bonsai has about me?"

They all fell silent before Goldie, Alfred, Foxy, Chick, and Bonsai all began to grin wickedly. Bonnie's eyes widened. "What a great idea, brother!" Bonsai laughed at Bonnie's horrified expression. "Now when you tick me off I have the perfect story to tell..."

"You wouldn't..."

"I remember this time when we were seven... with a lego, some crazy glue, and our mother's good yarn..."

"No!" Bonnie quickly put a hand over Bonsai's mouth, causing the others to laugh. "We agreed to never speak of that." Bonsai's laughter was muffled under his older brother's hand.

"Oi, now you got me curious!" Foxy complained through his own laughter. "I wanna know what happened!"

Bonnie brandished a fork at Foxy. "Down, boy."

"Hey!"

Freddy couldn't help but chuckle and shake his head as he watched his closest friends duel with forks. When Chica came to Bonnie's rescue using a spoon, Vixy joined the battle backing her brother up with a butter knife. The whole while, Bonnie had his hand over Bonsai's mouth, which Alfred was not-so-subtly trying to remove so Bonsai would reveal the embarrassing story Bonnie didn't want told. Chick stayed out of the battle, but she was recording it on her phone and laughing at them.

Goldie looked questioningly at Freddy, noticing him shaking his head. "All my friends are crazy," Freddy stated simply in answer to the unasked question. His brother grinned and playfully nudged him.

"Aww, but life would be boring if they weren't."

"True, Fredbear. True."

"Don't call me that!"

"Why? It's totally fitting. Fredbear."

"Argh...!"

* * *

"What's your schedule look like?" Goldie asked Freddy, looking over his shoulder at the sheet of paper. It was spread pretty evenly between his writing and music program classes, though he had more classes than Goldie due to this. "Oh cool, we have 8:00 AM Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, and 3:30 PM Mondays and Wednesdays together."

"Ha! I'm there with you," Alfred observed. "We also have Monday, Wednesday, and Friday 11:00 AM together, Gold."

"Ha, our schedules are almost perfectly matched. Except for that 5:30 class you have... how'd you end up with that?"

"Bro, I don't even know."

The group of friends were looking at their schedules, comparing them with others in the same program, as they made their way to the campus bookstore. Foxy was the only one among them in the drama program, so he was simply comparing with others to find out what times who had off so they could coordinate hangout times.

Soon, however, they reached the bookstore and split up to get their missing books and not be in each other's way. As Goldie made his way towards the music section, movement in the corner of his eye caught his attention.

He wasn't sure _why_ he turned to look. People passed and moved and objects shifted all the time, after all, there was nothing special about movement from the corner of his eye in a crowded bookstore. But this time he _did_ look, and he nearly froze at what he saw.

It was a golden rabbit. A very _scary-looking_ golden rabbit. The rabbit was covered in scars... he had scars on his cheeks and even across one of his eyes, though it didn't seem to impair his vision in the slightest, and there were several scars tracing up his neck towards his face. A large, jagged scar made its way down the rabbit's arm from under his sleeve to his elbow, _very_ noticeable, surrounded by smaller criss-crossing scars. The rabbit's hands were just as scarred as his arms and face.

Goldie could imagine that the rest of the rabbit's body covered with his clothing was just as scarred... but Goldie's eyes were really drawn to the rabbit's ears. They were long and fluffy, and one ear was scarred similarly to the rabbit's face. The other ear, however, wasn't simply scarred; it abruptly stopped, cut clean off a quarter short of its full length.

Thankfully for Goldie, the rabbit's attention was on the sketchbooks so he didn't notice the bear staring at him. The golden bear was very thankful for that. Despite how lanky and almost frail the rabbit appeared, the scars told a different story to Goldie. Whatever that guy was involved in, he decided, he wanted _nothing_ to do with it.

It wasn't like Goldie didn't have friends with scars- quite the contrary, as Foxy and Vixy both had plenty of scars and even a prosthetic limb each. But even those two put together couldn't match the amount of scars the rabbit had that were just _visible_.

Goldie was almost ashamed to admit that the rabbit's appearance freaked him out. Almost. He quickly moved on, not wanting to be caught staring at the freaky-looking rabbit.

' _Don't judge based on appearance,'_ Alfred's words echoed in his mind. _'Ha, I think this is an exception to that rule. Doesn't matter, anyway... he's clearly a studio art student. Not my problem.'_

He chose two books he had been missing and headed to the counter to pay, pretending not to notice as he passed right by the scarred rabbit. He paid the fees and went outside to join his friends and brothers. "So," he started with a grin, "Videogames?"

The others all shrugged. "Sure," Foxy agreed.

"We should go to your room," Alfred told Freddy. "Our other roommate is probably asleep by now, since I think he sleeps during the day."

"Alright," Freddy nodded, and together the group headed to the boy's dorm.

Technically girls weren't allowed in the boys' dorm, but the college never actually enforced the rule so Chica, Chick, Vixy, and Bonsai were able to go inside easily enough. Alfred and Goldie quickly dropped their books off in their rooms, confirming Alfred's belief that Marion was asleep, and headed over to Freddy's.

Alfred claimed a couch, sitting between Bonsai and Chick, while Freddy, Bonnie, and Chica sat on the other couch. Vixy was perched on the armrest of Freddy's couch, and Foxy sat on the floor in front of her. Goldie joined Foxy on the floor. There was a brief argument over what to play and how they'd switch off between nine people and four controllers, but soon enough they were all happily playing.

Goldie wasn't sure how much time had passed, but he was in the middle of beating Freddy, Foxy, and Bonnie when the door unlocked and opened. Freddy paused the game to look at the newcomer, and the others followed suit.

Standing in front of the door, blinking owlishly at them, was a blue-eyed, brown-haired human. He obviously hadn't expected there to be such a large crowd in the room, and most likely hadn't expected them to be a bunch of Animals...

Foxy grinned a bit. "You must be Mike Schmidt!" The human nodded a bit. "Awesome, you're my new roomie." He pointed towards the door on the right. "That room right there."

Mike nodded a bit, as though saying thanks, headed across the room- stepping carefully so as not to upset any of their wires- and into the room Foxy had directed him to. Freddy pressed "continue" in the game- immediately causing Bonnie to crash his character's car- and soon it was like they were never interrupted.

It was some time later when Bonsai said, "Hey guys, I think we should go get dinner."

"Good idea," Bonnie agreed, looking at his brother, then towards a clock on the wall that read 10:00. "Damn, I didn't realize it was that late..."

"I'm not hungry," Goldie said honestly, ignoring the look Freddy gave him. "Really! I ate too much earlier." He stood up. "But I _am_ tired, so I think I'm going to go shower and head to bed."

"You should really eat something," Chick told Goldie with a frown, setting the controller down while Bonnie turned the system off. "Eating regularly is important to your health, Gold."

Goldie waved his hand dismissively. "I'll eat in the morning. Goodnight, guys," he called over his shoulder as he left. Crossing the hall, he unlocked his dorm room and went inside, making a beeline for his bedroom door in order to get his sleeping clothes to shower.

When he opened the door, however, he couldn't help but freeze.

The rabbit from the bookstore was his roommate.

Upon hearing the door open, the rabbit looked up from what he was doing- sketching- on his bed. Goldie's blue eyes met the rabbit's- Durrell Frank's?- green eyes for a very brief moment, but the rabbit quickly averted his eyes back down to his sketchbook.

There was an awkward tension in the air. Part of Goldie wanted to say something to break the tension, but another part of him felt _really_ afraid of the rabbit despite his seemingly-skittish behaviorism. Instead, he opened one of his dresser-drawers, grabbed his clothes, and scurried out to the bathroom.

When he returned, the rabbit and his sketchbook were gone. Goldie wondered briefly where he disappeared to but pushed the thought aside. The rabbit would return from doing... whatever when he was ready. He turned off the light and climbed into bed. Within minutes, he was sound asleep.

Unknown to him, the rabbit didn't return until almost midnight.


	2. Extras I

The first set of extras. **The extras are usually short.** There will be exceptions, but more often than not these things won't exceed 2,000 words all together.

 **-Extras I-**

 _3 Days Ago_

 _There wasn't much he wanted to take with him. Just enough clothes to last a week before needing to be washed, his sketchbooks, and his school supplies. Therefore, he was finished packing in only thirty minutes, his single suitcase able to fit everything with ease._

 _Well, everything but the sketchbooks, but he could simply toss those in the backseat of his car._

 _The rabbit sat down on his bed to stare silently at the wall. He was about to head back to school once again. He didn't dislike school, of course, but it was always strange being surrounded by people instead of the solitary silence of his own home. He would start the long drive the next morning, so he really needed to take care of everything in his home before heading out..._

 _The rabbit got to his feet and began walking towards the door, but he paused and turned to look in a mirror._

 _For as long as he could remember, he had had those scars. He wasn't bothered by them anymore. They had earned him what his parents called a "mean nickname," but he didn't really care. It wasn't his scars he was looking at in the mirror anyway- those were so normal to him, he hardly noticed them anymore._

 _Sometimes he looked in the mirror just to remind himself that_ he was alive. _It sometimes surprised him how easy it was to forget that, to forget that he was still breathing and thinking. He blamed it on the house. It was so quiet..._

 _But this time, something in the background caught his eye._

 _It was a guitar. Green and black with gold writing, sitting on its stand. Realistically, he knew he shouldn't have it on display. He rarely ever played it anymore... more often than he played the piano or drumset- which was never, since he wasn't exactly sure how- but still so rare that there was really no point in keeping it out like that..._

 _He stared at the guitar's reflection for what felt like several minutes before heaving a sigh and turning around, grabbing the case from under his bed. He knew he shouldn't take it- there was absolutely no reason to- but for some reason he just couldn't leave it._

 _"It's just a repeat of last year," he commented to himself as he opened his case and set the guitar inside. "I never use it but I just can't leave it behind..."_

* * *

It was about eleven when Foxy returned to his room after he and the gang bar Goldie went to eat some dinner. He half expected the lights to be out, but to his surprise his new roommate Mike was still awake and looking out the window. Mike turned to look at the door as Foxy walked in the room.

Foxy grinned a bit at the brunette. "Hey," he greeted with a wave. "My name's Aiden Fox, but everyone calls me Foxy so you can too."

Mike picked a notebook up and began to write something down. Foxy's grin fell and he furrowed his brow. _'Did he just brush me off? Rude. Why I oughta-'_

However, before Foxy could start saying anything, Mike turned the notebook around so Foxy could see what was written. _Hi. I'm Mike. I'm sorry but talking is difficult for me._ Foxy blinked, quickly realizing he wasn't being brushed off but that the human simply _couldn't_ speak verbally to him.

"Oh... do you have an impediment or something?" Foxy asked, watching as the human wrote something else down.

 _No. I just find it hard to speak. I can, but I can't. Father says it's selective mutism._

So mute. Not _born_ mute, but he's a mute. Foxy grinned a bit at him, though sure to look friendly and not like he was amused. He definitely wasn't amused- some part of him was very sure that selective mutism was usually caused by some sort of emotional or psychological trauma, though he was no doctor. "That's fine, the rest of my friends talk too much as it is," he jokes, sitting down on his own bed across from Mike. Mike smiles at him, and Foxy was sure he was laughing though he made no sound. "So Mike, huh?" Mike nodded. "What program are you in?"

Mike reached over to his desk and grabbed a thin book to show him. The book was white with lines going across it horizontally, grouped together in fives. The treble clefts at the left and the music notes- mostly quarters and eighths with a half or whole thrown in now and then- made it obvious is was a music staff and that the book was a music book.

"You and almost everyone I know," Foxy chuckled. "Which section? I'm assuming you're not in the vocal music section..." he grinned a bit at the flat look Mike gave him. Mike picked the notebook up again to write his response.

 _I write music and play some instruments._

"Ooh, a composer! Always handy to have one of those around," Foxy chuckled. "How do you usually communicate, Mike? I seriously doubt you run around carrying a notebook everywhere you go." Mike rolled his eyes and set his notebook down, using his hands instead. Foxy stared blankly at him. "... Sign language?" Mike nodded, looking amused. "Well damn, I don't know sign language." Mike picked the notebook back up.

 _I didn't expect you to, don't worry._

Foxy hummed a bit in thought. "You're pretty cool, Mike," he decided. "You should meet Freddy and Bonnie."

 _It's almost midnight, Foxy._

"Well then tomorrow," Foxy amended, and Mike shrugged slightly. "Well then, I'm gonna get a shower," he told the human and stood up. "Goodnight, Mike!"

Mike waved a bit, foregoing the use of "goodnight" in sign language. Foxy wouldn't understand it anyway.

When Mike wandered out of the bedroom the next day, Foxy, Freddy, and Bonnie were on the couches with two other bears. Mike figured they were relatives of his bear roommate. Foxy was the one who spotted Mike and gestured him over.

"Good morning, Mike," he greeted with a grin. Mike waved and looked at the others. "Mike, these are my friends, Boone Hare-"

" _Please_ call me Bonnie..."

"And Frederick, Freddy, and Alfred Fazbear," Foxy introduced with a grin. Mike, deciding to be cheeky, signed something to them.

To his surprise, Freddy lifted his own hands and signed something right back. Foxy stared at Freddy incredulously.

"Freddy... I've known you for _how many years_ and you never mentioned you know sign language?" Foxy demanded, much to the others' amusement.

"Relax," Freddy chuckled. "It just never seemed important. Also, Mike said it was a pleasure to meet us."

Foxy was pouting a bit at Freddy. Bonnie, however, smiled kindly at Mike and said, "Right back at'cha, Mike. Hey Freddy, I wanna know sign language. Teach me?" he grinned at his best friend, who rolled his eyes.

"Sure. It'd definitely make talking with Mike easier. Is Mike short for anything?" Mike shook his head in response. "Alright then."

* * *

Freddy was sitting on his bed around noon, reading a book, when he felt a weight land on the bed next to him. He looked up to see Bonnie tuning his guitar. The rabbit flashed a grin at him.

"Hey Freddy, let's sing something," Bonnie said to him. Freddy sighed overdramatically but slid a bookmark in place and set his book aside.

"Like what, Bonnie?" he asked with a small smile.

"That one from high school?" the rabbit suggested with a shrug.

"Which one? The one about victory or the one about going insane?"

"The one that makes no damn sense."

"Oh, _that_ one. Fine, if you insist," Freddy laughed, and Bonnie began playing his guitar. The bear hummed along before beginning to sing, harmonizing with Bonnie's softer, lighter voice easily enough

It really _was_ a fun song to sing, Freddy mused. Something about holidays and pudding and parties and dressing up... and a cup. And something about ginger ale. And a pony. It took all their professionalism, which honestly they didn't have much of, to keep from breaking off into laughter. The moment the song ended, however, their resolve faded and their grins turned into outright laughter, much like it had the very first time they had successfully gotten through the song in class.

Something, however, was different. Freddy suddenly felt very warm. He was very aware of the pressure on his shoulder and side where Bonnie was leaning against him for support as they laughed... it wasn't the first time they found themselves so close, but never had Freddy been so... _aware_ of it. It actually felt rather... nice.

Quickly Freddy shoved these thoughts from his mind. "We should sing the parody," he suggested through his chuckles and Bonnie grinned at him.

"Not sure I can sing that one without dying, Freddy," Bonnie informed him, but he began playing the song again anyway.

Freddy laughed and sang with him, sometimes having to break off to try and stifle his own laughter.

In the back of his mind, though, the bear was trying to figure out what was going on with him. He was suddenly hyper aware of just how close he and Bonnie were sitting, how Bonnie's shoulder would sometimes brush against his... He didn't understand why he was only now noticing the warmth. Throughout their school years he'd had "sleepovers" with Bonnie along with Foxy and his brothers. They used to squish together on one couch when they were still small enough, hip to hip and shoulder to shoulder, to play videogames. And in high school they still did the same, just not _all_ of them...

But never before had Freddy felt this way. It was a new sensation... and he hated to admit that he didn't entirely dislike it.

He ignored them, though. Bonnie was his best friend. Bonnie was his best _male_ friend. Bonnie was his best male friend who was in a relationship with a mutual close friend. He couldn't think that way. Shouldn't feel that way. Shouldn't _notice_ these things.

It was wrong.


	3. Arc I, Part II

**Arc I, Part II: The Sounds of Night**

Two weeks flew by in the blink of an eye and before Goldie knew it, it was the third Tuesday of the semester. Goldie could count the amount of times he'd seen his roommate in that time on just one of his hands; the rabbit seemed to come in long after Goldie went to sleep but left long before he woke up and returned only when he knew Goldie wouldn't be in. The only sign that Goldie could see that his roommate was ever there was how the sketchbooks would shift around and the slightly-rumpled blanket on the other bed.

The bear didn't really mind, though, despite the fact it was obviously the rabbit was avoiding him. He still found the rabbit freaky, and no amount of time would change that, he was sure of. Of course, he felt a bit bad about judging the rabbit just on the scars, but there was really no reason to try and get to know him... they didn't have any common ground, unless their fur colour counted.

Which it didn't.

He knew it was shallow, but he couldn't bring himself to really care. He honestly just didn't see any point in trying to get to know the rabbit. He had always been more of a "what you see is what you get" person, so the idea that people had _layers_ didn't really click well with him; the outside always reflected the inside in some way. At least, that was what Goldie believed. It was a shallow thought, but he was convinced it was true.

That morning, however, that changed as he made a discovery.

As he was getting ready to go take his morning shower and get to class, something caught his eye. Well, first it caught his ear. At the foot of the rabbit's bed, between the bed and desk, the pile of sketchbooks suddenly toppled over, catching the bear's attention. He watched as the sketchbooks fell, and one of the spiral metal of a worn and damaged sketchbook caught on the blanket, pulling it along. It wouldn't really have moved the blanket if it weren't for the other sketchbooks hitting the one that got caught, so it partly uncovered the object that Goldie had assumed was a suitcase.

It wasn't.

Goldie paused and straightened up from where he was kneeling down, staring at the object. For a moment he didn't understand just what he was seeing. It didn't make any sense in his mind- this guy was into drawing and studio art and... such and such. That was what he did. There was no _way_ he'd own one of those...

The object was a guitar case.

 _'It's probably filled with sketchbooks,'_ he told himself. _'A relative lent him the case for some reason or other. There isn't a guitar in it.'_

He was curious, though. _Was_ there a guitar in it? Was it his roommate's? Did his roommate know how to play it? Was his roommate actually a musician...?

A glance at the clock told him he still had an hour before class began. Usually he'd be in the bathroom now, so he had no idea if his roommate would suddenly appear back... but he was just so curious, he _had_ to know.

It was a complete faux pas, a violation of whatever trust roommates who had never even spoken to each other held, a violation of _privacy_ , it was completely wrong. But Goldie couldn't help but make his way over to the guitar case, crossing the invisible boundary between the two halves of the room. He knelt down and pulled the blue blanket off of the black case, ignoring the sketchbooks that were pulled off with it.

The guitar case itself was old and a bit worn. It had scuff marks and chips in it, indicating its age, and a nametag was on the front. It read _"Durrell Franks"_ and a little note under it read, _"That means DON'T TOUCH, Dante!"_ Of course the bear didn't know who "Dante" was, so he easily dismissed the writing. He did briefly wonder why everything the rabbit owned- that he had actually seen- looked so old and worn but dismissed the thought as easily as the writing. Not everyone was from affluent, rich families like him and his brothers, after all.

The bear reached around and undid the locks, casting a glance at the door. He wondered how the rabbit would react if he walked in right now... probably not well. He was sure if he himself walked in on someone going through his own belongings, he'd be completely pissed off... That thought didn't stop Goldie, though. He opened the case, half expecting to see even more sketchbooks or something piled up inside. No, there were no sketchbooks inside.

It was an acoustic guitar.

The guitar clearly wasn't new, but it was polished and taken care of; the strings looked brand new, it didn't have any dust on it, none of the paint was chipped... It had a few scuff marks here and there, which gave away its age, but they weren't bad enough to take away from the guitar's aesthetic or really be considered damage. It was painted black on the sides and edges of the guitar's face, but it was a deep emerald green elsewhere. In place of a brand name, there was gold cursive writing. The largest word was _Franks_ , written across the guitar face.

Underneath this name, though, was smaller writing. It was still very clear, though some parts were more faded than others, telling Goldie that it had been written many years before.

 _"We love you no matter what. Please don't forget that."_

Goldie stared at the writing for a few moments. He felt like that was important for some reason. _Please don't forget that._ Why would someone write that? _Who_ wrote that? Assuming it was his roommate's parents or this "Dante," couldn't they just tell him every day like normal parents could?

However, he couldn't ponder on it for long. He heard the common room door open suddenly, and in a flash he had the guitar case closed and covered again. He shoved some of the sketchbooks back on top but didn't have time to stack them, instead making his way over to his bed. He began rooting around in one of the drawers, acting as if he had been searching for something.

A moment later, the bedroom door opened and Goldie glanced up. Just as he thought, it was his roommate who looked very surprised to see him there. Clearly he had expected Goldie to either be in the bathroom or gone by then. It only confirmed Goldie's thought that the rabbit was avoiding him.

His roommate quickly moved towards his bed in order to grab his bag sitting on the floor next to it. When he passed what Goldie now knew was the guitar case, he paused and frowned at the sketchbooks on the floor. Goldie felt relieved when the rabbit showed no signs of looking accusingly at him. Instead, the rabbit knelt down and picked the books up, stacking them once again on top of the case. Then he continued to his bed and grabbed his bag as well as a sketchbook sitting innocently on his pillow. Goldie watched him from the corner of his eye. The rabbit seemed completely steady and calm, confident in his movements, like nothing was bothering him. His back was straight, his ears perked, his head held up just like one would expect from the tall, tough-looking rabbit.

Then the golden rabbit let out a breath. His posture changed only minutely, with his head ducking and his ears drooping as he held the sketchbook tightly against his chest and shuffled his feet. He seemed so tired and... not very tall or strong- physically or emotionally- at all in that moment. A moment that Goldie knew he wasn't supposed to see, as the rabbit thought he was rooting around in his dresser-drawers... As the rabbit turned to leave, Goldie considered the rabbit's action and expression. The rabbit had seemed almost sad or... _worried_ at that moment. He hadn't been expecting that from the student who usually seemed so sure of himself despite his avoidance to socialization and aversion to eye contact.

It occurred to Goldie that there was probably a lot about the "scary" rabbit he didn't know anything about- maybe his scarred appearance was _not_ a reflection of who the rabbit was at all. After all, at that moment, he didn't appear to be so scary. He seemed like just another student being somewhere he didn't want to be with people he didn't even know.

Then there were the rabbit's eyes. Goldie hadn't made eye contact, as that would have given him away, but he couldn't help but notice the rabbit's eyes as he turned. They were an emerald colour, much like the green of the guitar... and Goldie, though he wasn't the best at reading emotions, had seen so much in those green eyes. They had made the rabbit seem _vulnerable_ , and yet they still seemed to shine brighter than anyone else's Goldie had seen.

It was strange, seeing a part of the rabbit that he clearly wasn't supposed to. To see that confidence, as surprised-filled and strangely hesitant as it was, slip away... to see the rabbit's defenses falter and a bit of his true feelings slip through.

Goldie hadn't even _known_ that there were defenses. _"I really need to start paying attention to people, don't I..."_

He was curious, very curious... but he didn't have time to investigate.

He needed to get ready for class.

* * *

It was several hours later when Goldie was finally free from his classes. Nearly four in the afternoon, he began heading towards the dorm to rest for a while. In his music classes he was usually on his feet doing one thing or another, and it could get tiring... Despite this, he paused as a flash of gold caught his eye, and he turned to look towards the pond between the music and studio art buildings.

His roommate had his back towards the golden bear, resting against a tree while he sketched in his sketchbook, but Goldie easily recognized him by the fact that he was missing part of his right ear.

For a moment, Goldie considered just walking on. He was tired and would have loved to sit down on a comfortable couch or even lay on his bed for a bit before the others were out of class and dragged him off to do something or other... but then he thought about the guitar and that expression he had seen right before the rabbit left their room, and he remembered _why_ he was suddenly so interested in the strange rabbit. The rabbit who, looking at him right then and remembering the scene from that morning, looked more _damaged_ than scary.

It was almost frightening to Goldie how much he suddenly wanted to talk to his roommate. Not even really just because of the guitar, but that _expression_ he had seen, that moment of _vulnerability_ he had witnessed. So instead of walking along the sidewalk like his classmates, he hitched his bag up higher on his shoulder and walked across the grass towards the rabbit. The rabbit, so focused on his drawing, didn't even notice his approach.

Goldie kept his footsteps soft, not wanting to startle his roommate, and peered over the rabbit's shoulder to look at the sketch. Well, Goldie thought it was a sketch... but it was actually a pencil drawing instead. And Goldie, who could neither draw a circle nor appreciate famous works of art, was amazed by it.

It was the pond. On the pond were two ducks innocently swimming around, and on the north side of the pond was a tree growing crookedly over the water. A quick glance up told Goldie that, yes, there was in fact a tree growing crookedly at the pond's edge, just as it had been drawn. Across the water was the studio art building, and there were people walking along the sidewalk in the background. Somehow, despite being done with nothing but a pencil, it has been shaded very beautifully...

The drawing looked so realistic that, had it not been done in a sketchbook with a pencil and he hadn't seen the rabbit drawing part of it, he might have thought it was a photograph. Of course, Goldie might have been biased- he wasn't exactly _good_ with that kind of art- but he was pretty sure that what the rabbit had made would wow even the art professors.

The rabbit in question was at that moment working on the pond's water, which seemed to be reflecting the sunlight. Goldie watched as he moved the pencil across the paper with quick but careful strokes to get _just_ the effect he was looking for...

Goldie didn't want to surprise the rabbit and cause him to mess up, so he waited until his roommate had paused in his drawing and lifted the pencil from the page to speak. "That's really good, you know."

As he expected, the rabbit jumped, startled, and turned to look at him with surprised, wide eyes. Goldie smiled sheepishly.

"Sorry! I didn't mean to startle you," he said, though he'd known very well he would startle the rabbit. He stepped around the rabbit so he wasn't standing over his shoulder. "Um... I'm Frederick Fazbear," he introduced himself. "Your roommate. Er- I know it's already been two weeks, I'm sorry for not saying anything before..."

The rabbit blinked up at him, clearly surprised, but replied with, "Uh... My name's Durrell Franks... but I usually go by Springtrap..."

Well if _that_ wasn't a strange nickname, Goldie didn't know what was. It was awkward, he thought, to even consider calling another person "trap," especially considering he had a feeling that name was referencing his scarred appearance. He didn't want to ask, considering there was a chance it was a sensitive topic... "Do you mind if I just call you Spring?" Goldie asked instead. The rabbit, Springtrap?, simply shrugged in response. "Well, everyone else calls me Gold or Goldie, so.. I guess you could call me that. Um... mind if I sit?"

Goldie half expected the rabbit to look at him like he was crazy or flat-out say "no," but instead the rabbit shrugged and said, "It's a free country, if you want to sit you can." The bear grinned in response to his words and sat down next to him. Sitting side by side, he quickly realized that minus his ears, his roommate was actually a tad shorter than himself... several inches taller, including the ears, but an inch or less shorter without. The rabbit had always seemed so tall, so it surprised Goldie to realize he was almost the same height as the rabbit- or, actually, the rabbit was almost the same height as him.

 _'I am a really bad judge, aren't I?'_

The rabbit- no, _Spring_ \- turned back to his sketching, though Goldie did notice his movements were slower than before now that his attention was divided. He searched for something to say to the rabbit. He definitely couldn't say "so I noticed you have a guitar" because that would lead to questions and revealing that Goldie snooped, and then the rabbit would never speak to him again and might even request a room change...

"So I guess it's really obvious you're a studio art student," Goldie started a bit awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck. Spring's ear twitched a bit, and Goldie could have sworn the rabbit was amused by his awkwardness.

"Yes. And you're a music student. I know _that_ because several nights I could have sworn you were trying to murder me. You leave your music stand in front of the door a lot," Spring told him, glancing over. Goldie simultaneously wanted to laugh and cringe- he had a habit of forgetting to put his stand back after practicing.

"S-sorry!" he fumbled, trying to find something to say. "I swear I wasn't trying to kill you. I just, you know, um, forget to put it back in its proper place..."

For a moment, there was what seemed to be the ghost of a smile on the rabbit's face, but Goldie wasn't quite sure since it was gone before he could really register it. "Don't worry. My, my brother used to do it all the time. Left it anywhere in the house he chose to practice that day... Drove my parents crazy." He paused. "Though I did sprain my ankle because of that once..."

Goldie laughed slightly. "Alfred- my youngest brother- did that to me when we were children. Not with a music stand, mind you. It was a microphone... I stepped on it at the top of the stairs and fell." The bear shook his head at the memory- Alfred had been horrified and apologized nearly a thousand times while at the hospital. He had actually broken his leg, but Goldie didn't think Spring needed to know that. Then it registered what Spring had actually said. "So, wait, your brother left music stands around your house?"

The rabbit paused for a moment and nodded. "Yeah. Um- my family were all musicians, so... yeah..."

"Cool... does your brother attend school here as well?" Goldie ventured curiously, not missing the way the rabbit's eyes darted in the opposite direction.

"No. H-hey, do you have any idea why the drama program wants three different large backdrops?" Spring suddenly asked, glancing at him. "The few times I've seen you on campus, you were with one of the drama students, so..."

Goldie wasn't naive enough to not realize the subject had been purposefully changed, but instead of pushing the matter he went along with the conversation. There was probably a reason Spring didn't want to talk about it- he seemed uncomfortable enough even mentioning his family in the first place. "You know about the backdrops?" Goldie was actually legitimately a bit surprised; usually no one without direct access to a drama student would know about the backdrops for their productions. And even then, the students sometimes wouldn't say...

"I'm, um... I'm one of the students who paints them," Spring admitted, looking a bit embarrassed. "N-not the only one of course, but I was put on all three large backdrops... Last year they only needed one, so I was just- um- just, never mind..." The rabbit was obviously rambling. It was clear he wasn't used to any sort of social interaction.

It was actually kind of adorable.

Goldie chuckled a bit, watching the rabbit flush in embarrassment. "I honestly don't know why. Foxy- he's my dramaturge friend- won't really tell me anything about it. Says I gotta wait and see it to find out." He paused. "Sooo... what _do_ the backdrops look like?"

Spring raised a brow. "Right now they're half-painted canvasses with indistinguishable blobs of paint here and there."

"Okay, and what _will_ they look like when those blobs of paint are turned into objects?"

There was a beat of silence before the rabbit ducked his head in a futile attempt to hide a small grin. Goldie noticed it anyway and knew exactly what the answer would be.

"You have to wait and see." Oh, he was _totally_ teasing him, Goldie realized. And it seemed so natural for the rabbit, like he couldn't help it even though Goldie could clearly see he was trying to keep from doing so.

 _'Interesting...'_ Goldie couldn't help but think. _'Even when talking to a complete stranger after two weeks of silence and avoidance, his real personality comes out.'_

Of course, he didn't say that. "Aw come on," he whined instead, leaning closer to his roommate. "I'm dying of curiosity here, you mentioned it and now I wanna know~!"

Maybe he was invading the rabbit's personal space, but Goldie couldn't help but feel satisfied when the rabbit glanced at him and finally made eye contact for the first time since he'd sat down. His eyes shone with amusement. It was a nice feeling, knowing he had replaced the rabbit's usual worry with silent laughter.

"You look like a puppy whose chew toy got snatched away," Spring commented, leaning a bit away from the bear who was much too close for his comfort. "And I don't want to be tarred and feathered by the drama students for giving it away."

"Aww, I won't tell anyone! Besides, they'd think Foxy told me, not you. Also, tarred and feathered? Seriously?"

"They're drama students, you'd be surprised," Spring told him in a dry tone, and Goldie couldn't help but laugh. He wondered why the hell he didn't talk to the rabbit sooner- he was rather adorable even with all the scars, and he was pretty funny to boot. "They also won't go after their own. They're like..." Spring glanced up as if thinking of a way to describe it. "A hive mind, I guess. They'll just know. Trust me, I have to deal with them as a group..."

"A hive mind, huh?" Goldie chuckled, finally leaning back out of Spring's personal space. "That actually sounds kind of freaky."

"Don't insult one," Spring said, turning back to his sketch. "If one is against you, they all are. And most drama students here are pretty damn overdramatic." Goldie thought about Foxy and all of his revenge pranks. He could see where Spring was coming from.

"So, you speaking from experience?" he asked casually.

"Not _my_ experience, but one of my fellow painters, yeah," Spring answered, glancing back at him. "Why?"

"Because Foxy has wicked revenge pranks. I was just wondering if you were ever one of his victims," Gold told him with a grin. Spring shook his head slightly with a slight smile.

"No, not me. I stay out of people's way. It's easier like that. If people don't know you exist, you're less likely to make them angry or scare them..." The golden rabbit trailed off, looking towards the water. Goldie frowned, thinking that that wasn't a very positive outlook on it. He knew why Spring mentioned the scared part.

After all, Goldie was scared by his appearance the entire last two weeks.

"You're not so scary, though," Goldie suddenly said. He ignored the rabbit's scoff that clearly said 'liar.' "You're more like a big fluffy pillow. Look at all this fluff," he went on, batting at Spring's fluffy left ear. The ear twitched and Spring shook his head, looking amused again. "You can't be scary with all that."

Spring raised a brow as he looked at Goldie. "I look like Frankenstein's monster. I don't think any amount of "fluff" will hide that." Goldie's own brows raised, surprised to hear Spring say something like that so casually.

Apparently the scars _weren't_ a sensitive topic.

"Well you don't even try to hide them," Goldie observed. "Your fur is long enough to hide the thinner ones if you really wanted, so I'm guessing you _don't_ want to hide them. And besides, you don't look like Frankenstein's monster. Frankenstein's monster is scary and dead. Or undead, whatever. You're not." Goldie watched Spring's ear twitch again. He wondered if it was just a nervous tick or something. He could see the rabbit was processing what he'd just said from the look in his eyes. It was true and they both knew it- the rabbit's fur was plenty long enough to hide the smaller and thinner scars. He just didn't try. He just didn't want to. It looked like the rabbit was about to say something.

However, before Spring could respond, they heard someone calling Goldie's name. Both of the gold Animals turned at the sound of the voice. Freddy, Alfred, Bonnie, and Bonsai all stood on the sidewalk looking over at them.

Goldie grinned a bit upon seeing them. "Hey Spring, you wanna meet my brothers and friends?" he asked. Spring shrugged slightly in response but made no move to complain or protest, so Goldie waved the group over. Goldie did, however, notice when Spring averted his eyes.

The bears and rabbits headed over to the golden Animals. As soon as they arrived, Goldie said to them, "Hey guys, this is my roommate."

"Um... hi?" Spring greeted unsurely. "I'm, uh.. Durrell Franks. But you can, uh, call me Springtrap."

"Or Spring," Goldie added, not liking the thought of his family calling the rabbit "trap."

"I'm Freddy, and this is our youngest brother Alfred," Freddy greeted while Alfred glared at him, obviously not appreciating being introduced like that.

"Boone Hare," Bonnie said with a wave. "But call me Bonnie. It's nice to finally see another rabbit on campus. There don't seem to be a lot of us!" The purple rabbit smiled kindly at the shorter golden rabbit, who seemed a bit embarrassed as he waved back.

"Bonsai," Bonsaid said simply in introduction, his eyes going to the sketch in Spring's lap. "Oh wow, you're a studio art student! That looks amazing. I wouldn't be surprised if you got a full ride scholarship here with talent like that."

Spring immediately became embarrassed and shook his head. "I-I, well, it was offered, but, um.. I didn't, you know, take it. I mean- I didn't go straight from high school to college so, uh... well, I, uh, waited, and... yeah... I'll shut up now..."

Still adorable. Goldie grinned a bit at the flustered rabbit and asked, "What year are you in anyway?"

"Second..."

"Really?" Bonnie looked a bit surprised. "I don't remember seeing you before."

"I, uh, usually don't... um, go anywhere a lot of people are..." Spring told him, glancing aside in embarrassment. "I stay to myself, mostly..."

"So if you didn't start college right after high school, how long did you wait?" Bonsai asked curiously. Spring shrugged a bit and looked down at his sketch.

"Um, two, three years, something like that..." Spring trailed as if thinking. "Yeah, something like that..."

"Our parents wouldn't let us wait even a semester," Alfred complained. "Your parents didn't want you out of the house?"

This time both of Spring's ears twitched as he glanced up at them again. Goldie could practically _see_ the doors slam down, darkening those bright eyes. He knew the rabbit wasn't going to offer any more information at that moment. "No," was all he said as he began working on his sketch again.

Freddy and Bonnie exchanged a glance, realizing something important had just happened. Bonnie finally said, "It was nice meeting you, Spring, but we need to be on our way. My girlfriend's expecting us in like... ten minutes."

Spring nodded slightly. "Nice to meet you too. Have fun," he replied, not even looking up at them. Even Alfred could tell he had said something wrong and that the rabbit was upset. The rabbit didn't want them to know, but it was _very_ obvious...

 _Please don't forget that._

Goldie glanced up at his brothers and friends, then ventured to ask, "You wanna come? It'll be fun."

"No thank you, really. I need to finish this sketch." Goldie was about to protest, but Freddy caught his gaze and shook his head. The golden bear knew Freddy was right- the door was obviously closed _and_ locked for the time being.

"Alright. Well, seeya later, Spring," Goldie said, standing to his feet. "Take care."

Spring only nodded in response.

* * *

Goldie had been asleep for hours by the time Spring returned to their bedroom, as per usual. This time, however, Goldie was awakened by the sound of a crash. He sat up in bed and fumbled with the lamp on his nightstand, illuminating the room.

Immediately his face flushed in embarrassment. Sprawled on the floor was Spring, who had very obviously just tripped over a music stand that Goldie had once again forgotten to move.

The rabbit looked up from where he was laying on his stomach, the music stand laying across his back now, very obviously embarrassed to have tripped over it in the first place. Then all he said was, "... why is your music stand so damn heavy?"

Goldie couldn't help but grin at this statement and slipped out of bed to help his roommate up. "Sorry, sorry," he apologized, setting the stand aside and pulling the rabbit to his feet. "I, uh, must've forgotten to put it back when I finished rehearsing earlier... again..."

"It's fine," Spring told him, straightening his disheveled clothes. "I noticed it fast enough to avoid falling _on_ it, so... yeah."

"Well that's good at least..." Goldie trailed. Then he noticed something; there was light in the common room. "Hey, did you forget to turn the common room light off?"

"No, the other guy is in there right now," Spring answered, sitting down on his bed, fidgeting with his hands. "You know- the guy with the night classes."

"Oh... that makes sense." Goldie sat down on his own bed as well, glancing at a clock. It was 11:47 PM- almost midnight. "Hey, don't you get up at like... 5:30 AM?" he asked, furrowing his brow. Spring nodded slightly, looking at him in confusion. "It's almost midnight. Why do you stay out so late? You'll only get like five hours of sleep, and I doubt that's healthy at all."

The rabbit glanced towards the window, though the curtains were drawn and the blinds were down. He was silent for a few moments before answering, and Goldie could tell that his answer wasn't the complete truth.

"I like the sounds of night."

 **Arc I: End**


	4. Arc II, Part I

Okay, this is so late for one reason. My computer died and I lost all progress and that made me lose motivation and then college began again and I've been concentrating on that and I've recently finally gotten back into FNaF... so this is continuing. And I was reading over my outline (on my flash drive, not computer) for this and decided to dump the current outline 'cause it's just so fast-faced. So yeah. I feel like this chapter is kind of jumping the gun, but after this chapter things will slow down now that they're on speaking terms. If I were to rewrite this story completely (and maybe I will, we're not too far into it), Goldie wouldn't discover the guitar until Arc II or III.

What do you guys think, maybe I should start rewriting this since we're not too far in? You'll notice in these months my writing's improved quite a bit... You know, I think I will rewrite it. Yeah... I'm just gonna post this chapter and finish off the second part so you can see how this was supposed to end, then I'm going to start rewriting from the beginning. More detail, more imagery, less... random. Yeah.

Also, this chapter includes bits of a song/poem I wrote... and, well, the song's title is actually what this fic is based off of.

* * *

 _"Walking with a friend in the dark is better than walking alone in the light."_

-Helen Keller

* * *

 **Arc II, Part I: Operation Friendship, Rocky Start**

 _"All classes have been cancelled."_

That was all the poster on the door said. The golden bear grinned and turned around, walking away.

The school had cancelled all afternoon classes. That meant he and his friends had more time to go hang out and have fun, so he wasn't disappointed in the least. "Hey guys, we got a free afternoon!"

"So what should we do?" Bonnie asked, slipping his hands in his pockets. "We didn't exactly expect afternoon classes to get cancelled..."

"How about we go to the park or something? You know, the one down by the river," Goldie suggested, glancing back at them. "We can grab some ice cream and hang."

"You _do_ realize we're not teenagers anymore, right?" Alfred asked, raising a brow at Goldie. The older brother simply shrugged, as if not concerned at all.

"So?"

"... Fine, sounds fun. Let's go." Goldie grinned at his youngest brother. "But first we need to drop our bags off," Alfred added. "Marion's probably asleep, I don't want to risk waking him, so I vote the bags go in your room, Goldie."

"Fine, fine," Goldie waved his hand dismissively, not arguing. "Toss me your bag, Alfred, and _don't you dare aim for my face!_ "

The friends laughed as, immediately after saying that, Alfred's bag hit Goldie in the face. Goldie grumbled and shoved Alfred a bit. "I'll be right back," he said, hurrying inside the dorm and up to the third floor where his room was.

He opened the door, but immediately paused. He could hear something. It was barely audible from that distance, but he could _just_ barely hear it... Quietly he shut the door and set the bags down on the couch, then crept towards the bedroom door.

The door was slightly open, as though someone had tried to push or pull it shut and hadn't noticed it didn't actually close. Being careful not to make any noise to alert anyone of his presence, he peeked through the slightly ajar door.

He wasn't surprised to see Spring inside- after all, it was as much Spring's room as his. What _did_ surprise him, however, was the fact that Spring was holding his guitar. He wasn't _playing_ the guitar, though his hands and fingers moved just above the strings as if remembering the music, but he _was_ humming softly to himself. Goldie wondered if maybe he wasn't playing out of respect for the roommate sleeping next door, but the walls were pretty well proofed so sound shouldn't have been an issue...

The humming, Goldie suddenly realized, sounded like some kind of lullaby. His ears twitched and he listened closely, but it seemed as though the rabbit's humming was ending already.

There was silence for a few moments, and Goldie considered making his presence known. However, as he was about to stand, he heard the clear, though soft, strumming of the guitar.

It was a soft melody, slow and quiet. Perhaps, the bear thought, the lullaby he had been singing earlier. He watched the rabbit, feeling almost foolish- spying on his roommate felt as strange as it probably looked- as he strummed the guitar and began to softly sing.

 _"Hush, hush, whisper softly, my dear..."_ the rabbit sang softly to himself, looking at something Goldie couldn't see. His voice was soft and gentle. He was pretty good, Goldie had to admit to himself. _"Have no fear, for I am still here..."_

Okay, admittedly he was very good. Not the best- it was clear he hadn't really played or sang in a while, especially at the same time based on how unsure his movements were and shaky his voice was- but good.

 _"Little songbird, in the morning you will fly, but for now hear the sea sing you a lullaby..."_

Goldie wondered what song he was singing anyway. He'd never heard it before, not that that was very surprised- he didn't know _any_ lullabies.

" _...Hush, hush, listen to the moon's gentle song, and in your dreams, sweet songbird, you can sing along..._ "

Goldie tilted his head slightly, watching in fascination as Spring's playing became a bit more confident, his hands moving as though they were on muscle memory. Still a little stuff, but better than before, and his voice had begun to even out.

" _...Little songbird, do not fear the song of the sea, for it only brings you closer to sleep... and when you awake you'll be waking to me... this I promise, sweet songbird, you I won't leave..._ "

It was a curious, very slow, and rather pretty song, Goldie had to admit to himself. He felt like it would probably fit a female singer better, but Spring's voice was soft and gentle enough for it.

" _... Hush hush, whisper softly my dear, have no fear for I am still here..._ "

As the music trailed to an end, Goldie figured it was time to back away and pretend he heard nothing. He carefully backed away- smoothly dodging that squeaky floorboard that had betrayed him and alerted Freddy to his coming home late the year before- and back to the front door, grabbing his and Alfred's books along the way. He opened the door again and closed it a little louder, knowing the rabbit's sensitive hearing would pick up on it.

When he reached the bedroom, the guitar nor the pick were anywhere in sight, and Spring was stacking sketchbooks back on top of the case.

Spring looked up, his green eyes briefly meeting Goldie's brown before flicking to the clock on his bedside table. His brow furrowed slightly in clear confusion.

"Afternoon classes are cancelled," Goldie explained, unceremoniously dropping the two bookbags down on his bed. "Hey, me and my friends are about to go hang out at the park, want to come along?"

The raised brows and slight frown that crossed Spring's face already gave Goldie the answer, but the rabbit said, "I have to work on my project. Maybe next time." The golden bear wasn't stupid, he knew his invitation had been shot down and his future ones would be too. He'd just have to find another way to get the rabbit out of the dorm, then.

Goldie grinned and shrugged a bit. "Next time is Saturday at the arcade. How about it?"

This time Spring actually had the decency to look sheepish. "Saturday?"

"Yep! You'll come? The others wouldn't mind, you know."

"I, um, well, I can't, I have to work on my project-"

"You can work on it Sunday~ How about it?"

Spring blinked up, startled, at the golden bear. Goldie could see the surprise and confusion in his eyes, but he kept grinning. He'd feel guilty later, but he was determined.

"But... I have to work on the backdrops Sunday," he mumbled out, glancing aside.

"We won't spend all day at the arcade," he laughed. "Just a couple hours, ya'know? Like, noon to three."

"That's a few, not a couple..."

"Same difference," Goldie waved dismissively. "So?"

He wasn't taking no for an answer, and Goldie could see Spring realizing that. However, the rabbit, as timid and nice as he may have been, was no pushover. Goldie watched as those green eyes hardened and the rabbit's shoulders squared up a bit, and the bear remembered why he had been afraid of this rabbit the first time he saw him.

Too bad the illusion was ruined by his twitching ear, giving away his nerves.

"I said I'm busy," Spring told him, his voice clipped and sharp. His ear twitched even more.

"Busy hanging out with us? Great!" Goldie grinned even more. Spring's shoulders lost a bit of the tension as his brow furrowed. His nose didn't crinkle, though, so that was a good sign in Goldie's book.

"What?" Spring started, "No, I-"

"I'll tell the guys, they'll be excited!"

"What the hell? Hey, Fazbear, listen to what I'm saying-"

"Wait, are you saying no?"

"Yes!"

"Great! I'll tell the guys, you'll love it at the arcade- it's really good!" Goldie laughed and waved, heading out the door.

"Wait- what? Hey!"

Goldie practically ran out of the dorm, closing the door and sprinting down the stairs-foregoing the elevator so he didn't have to wait- before the rabbit could voice any more protests.

When Goldie reached his friends, he flashed them a grin. "Spring's coming with us Saturday!" he declared right before the rabbit showed up.

"Dammit, Fazbear, will you _listen_ -"

"That's great!" Bonsai laughed, apparently not realizing that the golden rabbit was about to negate Goldie's claim. "The more the merrier, right?"

Spring simply blinked as the others all nodded in agreement.

"Hey Spring, come to the park with us," Goldie repeated, feeling emboldened to ask again now that he had an audience. He felt a little bad, knowing he was pushing the rabbit into a corner, but he was determined to get the rabbit out and about with them.

The gold rabbit resemble a goldfish for a moment, trying to work his mouth. He seemed surprised, Goldie noted, at how the others waited patiently and with smiles for his answer. "I have a project..."

"Work on it when we get back, it won't be dark then," Goldie assured him with a grin.

Spring was silent for a few moments before sighing and running a hand through the thicker, fluffy fur on top of his head. "Okay, okay, just- can I at least grab my sketchbook?"

Goldie grinned triumphantly. "Of course!" The rabbit turned to go back to their dorm, and when he was out of sight and earshot, Freddy rounded on his older brother.

"Goldie, what the hell?" Freddy demanded, keeping his voice low so as not to attract attention.

"What?" Goldie whined. "I want him to come."

"He obviously _doesn't_ want to come, Gold, and his wants in this matter far outweigh yours! You cornered him," his younger brother accused.

Goldie shrugged sheepishly. "Sorry, Freddy."

"You're going to apologize."

"At the park. If I apologize now he'll take that as a sign to bail."

"It's not bailing when he didn't agree to this."

"He did agree! I just had to... convince him."

Freddy growled a bit and shook his head, turning to Bonnie, Chica, and Foxy with an expression that Goldie didn't care for.

"Well what's done is done," Chick declared, trying to defuse the situation. "Who knows, maybe the rabbit- Spring?- will have fun!"

Foxy snickered a bit. "Really, Goldie, this seems like a stunt I'd pull, not you."

Beside Foxy, Mike sighed silently and rolled his eyes. Goldie had a feeling it wasn't just something Foxy _would_ do.

"Oh wait- I did pull this stunt." Freddy growled at this.

"Shut up, Fox."

"Make me, Fazbear."

* * *

When Spring returned, it was to the scene of Freddy chasing the quicker, fitter fox around the parking lot, with Bonnie and Bonsai cheering Freddy on, Mangle cheering Foxy on, and Goldie just standing there watching in amusement while Chica shouted at both boys to cut it out. Needless to say, he wondered what exactly he had missed.

Goldie caught sight of the rabbit, who clutched an old, beat-up sketchbook tightly against his chest as he watched the bear and fox run around. "Hey Spring!" he called, causing the rabbit to jump. Immediately the rabbit straightened up and loosened his grip on his sketchbook, turning to look at the golden bear. "Quick, before they notice you're here, claim shotgun!"

Spring just raised a brow at him. Goldie sighed and walked over to the rabbit. "Hey, sit up front with me and you don't have to sit with any of them," he said instead, gesturing over to his friends.

That seemed to get his attention as he glanced over towards the near-strangers. After a few moments, he sighed and let his posture slump slightly. "You're really high maintenance, gold bear."

"Gold bear? Ehhh close enough I guess," Goldie chuckled, pulling his keys out of his pocket. "Hey guys, can we go now? Sometime before next century, please!"

"Shotgun!" Alfred called.

"Too late, Spring already called it," Goldie grinned, bounding over to the van and clicked the unlock button. He noticed Foxy change direction in his running, so he hit the button that automatically opened the door that Foxy was aiming for.

Foxy leapt through the now-open sliding door and quickly found a place away from the door, turning around to leer at Freddy. Freddy glared.

"You can't stay in there forever," he warned before following Bonnie, Chica, Mangle, and Chick to Chica's car. Goldie pouted.

"What, bro, you're not riding with us?" he called after Freddy but only received a dismissive wave in response. He huffed. "Fine, I'm not buying you ice cream!"

"I have money," was the response. Goldie shrugged and slipped into the driver's seat. Spring was already in the passenger seat, with his seatbelt buckled and his sketchbook open on his lap. There seemed to be a very light outline of something, and though there were not details, Goldie could see it was a portrait of someone.

Who, he had no idea, so he dismissed it from his mind.

A glance in the mirror showed that Alfred and Bonsai had claimed the two middle seats while Mike and Foxy were in the back. Mike was in the center, beside Foxy, with a notebook open on his lap.

He grinned and closed his door before starting up the car, and-

"Put your seatbelt on," the voice beside him was soft, but it still managed to surprise the bear, who looked over at the passenger. Spring stared straight back at him, his brow slightly pinched and his eyes hard.

"Ah, right," Goldie laughed sheepishly and a bit nervously, reaching over his left shoulder to pull his seatbelt on and buckle it in place. When he did, the rabbit noticeably relaxed.

None of the four in the back seemed to notice the exchange between the golden duo, which made Goldie feel a bit better. He put the car in reverse and backed out of the parking space, glancing only briefly at the rabbit. Spring was relaxed again, his hand left hand laying across the sketchbook's page, holding the pencil.

 _'He's left handed,'_ he noted dimly, though that didn't sound correct for some reason. Thinking back, he remembered down by the pond that the rabbit _had_ held the pencil with his left hand, but his guitar- it was a right-hand guitar and he seemed to play it just fine earlier. _'Ambidextrous? I dunno, I'll ask later when he's less mad at me...'_

"Come on, Gold, turn on the radio!" Alfred commanded, poking his eldest brother's arm. Goldie rolled his eyes.

"What's the magic word, Al?" Goldie teased with a grin.

" _Pleeaaaaaase_?" Alfred drawled, making his voice as childish as it could manage, eliciting a laugh from his friends.

"Just a moment," Goldie laughed as he pulled out of the school's drive and onto the road, turning left towards downtown. It wasn't a small city, downtown was almost twenty minutes away, so he was all too happy to turn the radio on.

 _Eye of the Tiger_ blasted through the speakers, causing the two rabbits in the van to wince as their sensitive hearing was assaulted. Goldie grinned sheepishly as he turned the volume down a bit. "Sorry!" he laughed, ignoring the way both green-eyed rabbits glared at him.

Foxy gave a little whoop from in the back as he began singing along, startling the human beside him, and Alfred joined just a few seconds later.

Spring glances over towards Goldie as the bear also started to sing, and it occurred to the rabbit that he was surrounded by music students... and one drama student, of course. He couldn't help but smile slightly as the four friends all sang loudly and out of key, turning his gaze back to the window to watch the houses pass by.

This all felt so familiar to him and, at the same time, so foreign. He didn't join in.

It wasn't long before they were pulling into the park, and Spring waited for the others to pile out before slipping out himself, clutching his sketchbook again. He closed the door, and as he did he heard the locks click into place.

Foxy ran ahead closer towards the river, the others trailing after him at a leisurely pace. Spring glanced around and followed, figuring there wasn't exactly much else he _could_ do. He located a bench and sat down, looking out towards the water, and then he turned to the next empty page in his sketchbook and began to sketch what he saw.

The golden bear wandered over to the bench and leaned over Spring's shoulder, causing one of the rabbit's ears to twitch. He looked curiously at the page and saw what looked like a million light lines that were just a general outline of everything, and what he assumed were his friends standing near the railing. He grinned. "What'cha got there?" he asked.

"A sketch," Spring answered simply, not taking his eyes off of the page.

"Well I can see that, but what is it?"

"What's in front of me."

"So the river, the rail, my friends?"

"You too. I sketched that before you came over here to bother me."

Goldie sighed a bit, finally accepting that the rabbit would continue being short with him. Looked like it was time to apologize. "Hey, look, I'm sorry I backed you into a corner like that, but I do want to get to know you better, you know, and it just wasn't happening with how little we interact during school hours."

Spring glanced up at him, a brow raised. "So... you thought... twisting my words and then cornering me into coming here with you and your friends when I hardly know any of you would be a good way to make me want to get to know you." Goldie winced a bit at that summary. "For someone who spent two weeks trying to pretend I didn't exist, I find it hard to believe you just suddenly decided I was worth your time."

The bear frowned a bit. "You seemed pretty open to getting to know me yesterday."

"Yes, well, yesterday you were much nicer about it and much less insistent."

"Well... okay, touché. Well, then," Goldie glanced aside before rounding the bench and plopping down next to the rabbit. "How can I make it up to you?"

The rabbit looked up from his sketchbook finally and blinked owlishly at him. "Huh?"

"I upset you, that much is obvious, and I want to say sorry and make it up to you," Goldie explained simply enough. "So how can I do that?" Spring stared at him for a few moments, as thought trying to decide if it was a joke or not. Finally, he spoke again.

"I'll tell you how to make it up to me if you tell me why you're suddenly interested in me."

Goldie frowned a bit, thinking of how to answer. He couldn't admit that he'd seen the guitar- if he did that, he had no doubt the rabbit would get up and walk away and never speak to him again. Or maybe he'd lecture him on respecting people's privacy and then tell him he would never forgive him for it. He wasn't really sure _what_ he could say. Perhaps a partial truth...

Apparently, Spring's patience was already thin, because he sighed and started to close his sketchbook, not even caring when, in his haste, his pencil slipped from his fingers and hit the ground. "Fine, you-"

"Your expression."

The sudden answer made the rabbit pause, and he looked at Goldie in confusion. "What?"

Goldie had no idea where he was going with that, but he found himself speaking without really thinking about it. "Yesterday morning," he continued, "when I was rooting around in my drawer. Just, you came in and you were surprised to see me, and you didn't have any of your defenses up, but you quickly brought them back up and grabbed your sketchbook and bag. And I glanced over at you because, well, I'm not good at reading people but there was something that didn't match up with the impression I had of you when you walked in, and, well... You just looked really... sad, worried and, well, not _broken_ , per say, but you looked like you were hurting about something. You didn't look all that confident, you know, like you usually looked- you kinda just, um, slumped and your ears lowered and you just looked totally different and unhappy... And then when I saw you by the pond later I just thought that, you know, you looked really... um, lonely... and it- well, being lonely isn't a nice feeling and..."

He trailed off, feeling embarrassed that he had begun rambling during his explanation. The rabbit was still staring at him, an unreadable expression on his face. "And... then when we were talking, well, you were... a lot different than I expected and it was nice and I just want to get to know you better," he finished hastily, and he knew his own cheeks were flushed in embarrassment.

It was several silent, awkward moments before the rabbit glanced away, letting out a soft sigh and his ears lowering just a tad. "So you pitied me?"

"N-no!" Goldie quickly denied, shaking his head. "I just... I just empathized." He winced slightly; was there much difference between empathy and pity? "I've always had my brothers and all, but to everyone else I was just a more rambunctious, annoying, different-coloured Freddy. I didn't even have my own identity- they even called me _Gold Freddy_ , and it just- it seems ridiculous, but-"

"I understand," the rabbit interrupted, and Goldie didn't know if he said that because he meant it or if he saw how much the bear was struggling to express himself. "But, you know, you really shouldn't judge people by their appearances."

"I know," Goldie sighed and nodded. "I know, I just- it's hard for me to comprehend people having layers." He coughed, a bit embarrassed by that entire conversation, and said, "So, uh, I kept up my part of the deal, your turn." Even if he hadn't told the _entire_ truth, but it was more than half.

The only reason he paid that much attention, of course, was because of the part he _wasn't_ saying.

After a few moments of silence, Goldie whined, "Heeey, you're the one who set up that agreement!"

Spring couldn't help but smile and say, "But I didn't shake on it, now did I?"

"You looked like if I dared to even think about touching you, you'd throw me in the river," Goldie pouted, though inside he was wondering how the rabbit could go from being angry and interrogating him to bantering with him in just a few seconds.

"There you go again, judging people by how they look," Spring chuckled as he lightly nudged the bear, surprising him; he honestly hadn't expected the rabbit to initiate any contact. Except maybe to punch him. He was sure he had just sounded like a moron, after all. "If you really want me to forgive you for dragging me out here even after I said no, then we go get ice cream now, not later."

Goldie blinked and laughed a bit. "Ooh, bunny got a sweet tooth?"

"Ice cream now or I resent you forever, Fazbear," the rabbit sniffed, glancing towards the river and crossing his arms in mock anger, again surprising- and amusing- the bear. Unbeknownst to Goldie, Spring was just as surprised with himself; he hadn't acted this way in years. Five years, to be precise...

"Okay, okay!" Goldie chuckled, raising his hands in surrender. "Let's go get ice cream then." He hopped up from the bench, Spring following suit, and knelt down to pick up the forgotten pencil. He grinned as he held it out to Spring. "I might not be an art student but I get the feeling these things are pretty expensive," he said.

Spring blinked at him and took the pencil back, smiling slightly. "Only a bit," he replied with a slight shrug, slipping the pencil into his pants pocket. "Thanks."

Goldie grinned and nodded, "No problem!" He pulled his keys out of his pocket and twirled them with his fingers. "Let's go get ice cream then."

"You want to drive to a place that is literally two streets away?" Spring raised a brow at him, looking simultaneously amused and bemused. "Why don't we just, I don't know... _walk_?"

Goldie pouted but then shrugged. "Fine with me, at least put your sketchbook in the van though. I want to talk to you without your eyes focused on that sketchbook for once."

"I'll consider it."

"Spriiiiiing!"


	5. Arc II, Part II

**Arc II, Part II**

"I can't believe the others wanted to wait! I mean, it's a perfect time for ice cream, it's hot and stuff."

Spring made a non-committed hum of agreement, his hands twitching slightly as he walked. He wasn't used to not having a sketchbook or pencil with him. The bear had managed to convince him to relinquish the sketchbook over to the van, and now the two were walking- alone- to the ice cream shop. For some reason the others decided they weren't ready for ice cream and sent the two golden creatures along by themselves. Admittedly, the rabbit didn't mind, but Goldie was talking as though they'd been thrown under a bus. It was amusing... for the first minute or so.

"Oh well, at least I don't have to pay for Alfred's ice cream. He likes the worst flavors, you know? He likes tapioca. Tapioca!"

The rabbit's gaze wandered to the buildings around them. It wasn't the first or even the second time he'd walked down that street, and it certainly wouldn't be his last. During the school year, downtown was one of his favourite weekend haunts. Specifically the dessert cafe, though he wouldn't mention that; he didn't want to be known as the "easter bunny" again.

"Foxy wants rum flavoured ice cream, but nowhere around here sells it so he's always disappointed, so eh, whatever on him, but geez... Spring, are you even listening? Spring?"

A snapping sound caught the rabbit's attention, and he looked back at Goldie. "Hm?"

"You weren't even listening to me," Goldie pouted.

"I was listening. Something about tapioca?"

"That was ages ago, Spring."

Spring just shrugged. "Sorry. Your ranting sort of lost me along the way." He turned his attention to the dessert cafe and headed inside, Goldie following him. "I mean, I think tapioca is fine-"

"Durrell!" a voice interrupted, and Spring silently cursed his luck. The man behind the counter gave him a grin. "Let me guess, chocomint ice cream cone, two scoops?"

The rabbit pointedly ignored Goldie's amused stare. "Yeah... And really, please don't call me Durrell..."

"Coming right up, Durrell! What's your friend there want?"

Spring's ear twitched and flattened in aggravation at being ignored. "Um," Goldie started, "Just a strawberry cone I guess. Two scoops," he added with a grin at Spring, who glared briefly back. There was no anger in the glare, though, and his twitching ear ruined the effect. Seriously, how could anyone take a twitching ear seriously?

After a few seconds, Spring sighed and sat down in a chair to wait for the ice cream cones to be made. Goldie glanced around, noticing the place was surprisingly empty for a hot summer day when classes at the local college were cancelled. There were a few tables scattered here and there, a few booths, a shelf full of knick knacks against one wall, and a clear wall was painted with a mural of farm fields. It was surprisingly homely. After making note of everything in the dessert cafe, he turned his attention to Spring. "So... he calls you Durrell?"

"I wish he wouldn't," Spring muttered, lightly tugging on his longer ear as he glanced away from the bear. He added, "He's a lot like you, actually. Loud, stubborn, overbearing and refuses to call me by my preferred name."

"To be fair your preferred name sounds a hell of a lot meaner than the nickname my classmates gave me," Goldie pointed out, ignoring the most-likely unintentional pun.

"Yet you still kept half of it."

"And I call you half of your preferred name." He paused and frowned slightly in thought. "Now that I think about it... where exactly did the "Spring" in that come from anyway?"

Spring's face immediately flushed red and he mumbled something under his breath, turning his gaze away slightly. "I'm sorry, I didn't catch that," Goldie told him, leaning in slightly and twitching his ears, trying his best to hear the rabbit.

"Spring is my middle name," Spring repeated a bit louder, face heating up a little more. "Durrell Spring Franks. D-don't ask, my mom, um, she... well... yeah... apparently people started calling me by my middle name and it stuck..."

"But then they stuck the word "trap" on there," Goldie surmised. Spring just gave a noncommittal shrug in response. "Therefore, I'm perfectly within my right to call you Spring. Besides, you gave me permission when I asked yesterday."

Before the rabbit could respond, the man behind the counter called, "Chocomint and strawberry!" Spring took advantage of this to leap up from his seat and went to the counter, where he pulled his wallet out and handed the money over to the guy behind the counter, before Goldie could even register the fact that the ice cream was ready. He watched, rather startled at how fast the rabbit had moved. The rabbit muttered something to the man behind the counter before taking the cones from him, going over to Goldie and holding his strawberry cone out to him.

Goldie looked at his new friend and took the cone from him with a "thanks," but he was thinking about what he had just seen. It wasn't a big establishment, so it wasn't too hard to see the rabbit had handed a ten over the counter, and Goldie knew for certain two ice cream cones did not equal ten dollars.

He also noticed Spring didn't take his change.

However, he didn't mention this observation out loud, instead following Spring back outside. "So, uh, chocomint?"

"I like it," Spring defended lamely. Goldie chuckled a bit.

"Hey, I'm not criticizing. I enjoy chocomint too, just usually not in a cone," Goldie told him, licking his own strawberry ice cream.

"Then you're missing out," Spring shot back with a small, almost unsure smile. He clearly wasn't used to interacting with people on a friendly level.

Had it been one of his brothers or even Bonnie or Foxy, Goldie would have teasingly asked for a bite and then kept up the teasing. But this wasn't one of his brothers or close friends; this was someone he hardly knew, someone who didn't know him well enough to even actually have regular physical contact.

Instead, he just said, "I'll just have to get it next time then."

"I'll keep that in mind."

The golden duo fell into silence as they walked down the sidewalk. It wasn't difficult, keeping pace with the rabbit, seeing as the rabbit wasn't actually as tall as he looked the first time Goldie saw him. That, though, brought another thought to mind.

"Your ears tricked me the first time I saw you, you know."

Spring blinked and looked over at him, his brow scrunching up in confusion. "Huh?"

"You have really tall ears," Goldie elaborated, gesturing with his hands towards said ears. "They make you look taller than you actually are."

"Are you calling me short?"

"Huh? Nah," Goldie laughed, taking another lick of his melting ice cream. "You're still tall. Just I thought you were taller when I first saw you. But not including your ears, I'm like an entire two inches taller..."

"The first time you saw me I was sitting." Goldie winced slightly at that. He had forgotten that.

"Er… well… outside of that…" he tried, but the look on Spring's face showed he didn't buy it.

Spring rolled his eyes slightly after a moment or two, and Goldie had a feeling he had just failed some kind of test. "I might not seem like it but I'm rather observant when I want to be. I know you saw me at the bookstore the day before classes started, you can stop beating around that bush."

The bear's face flushed, embarrassed to have been so easily caught. Yeah… he totally failed that test. "Wait, so you knew before finding out that I was your roommate that-"

"You were scared of me?" Spring finished with a slight shrug, glancing aside. He either didn't notice or completely ignored Goldie wincing again. "It's not rare, you know. I know at first glance I'm a bit… intimidating." The rabbit seemed to be choosing his words carefully, as though he wasn't wanting to sound too self-deprecating. "It took the other art students a few days before even acknowledging me, last year. Appearance is… it means a lot in this society. I've known that for as long as I can remember."

Goldie frowned a bit. "So you do have other friends, right? The other art students?"

"I have a few, but I don't really spend time with them outside of class. They have their other friends, after all," he answered with another shrug, and when Goldie actually looked at him he could see that the rabbit honestly _didn't care_ about it. He could only assume the rabbit wasn't close to his art friends. "The only people I really talk to are the people working on the backdrops with me, and that's normally only when we're, well, working."

"Who are they?" he asked curiously, wondering who actually knew the rabbit and if he knew him.

"The guy in the other room- not your brother, obviously, but Marion Strings," the rabbit told him. "He's on one of the backdrops, we work on it in a room connected to the auditorium around eight every Tuesday and Thursday evening…"

"After the sun's set?"

"It works best with his schedule and I don't mind. I like night. There are others, too… a girl named Sarah, she's a human, works on that backdrop with us and on another with me and a dog named Dug… yeah… and I work on the third with two of the art teachers and Sally-Anne, it's the biggest backdrop so needs more people…"

"I literally recognized _none_ of those names, you know, except my brother's roommate's."

"I know. But you're a music student, that's the be expected."

Goldie glanced up at the sky, frowning slightly in thought. "We totally got off topic, you know."

"Oh yes, we were talking about my ears. And that they somehow make me seem taller, which I don't quite understand considering…" Goldie looked over at the rabbit in time to see his hand brush against the ear with the severed top. Goldie continued frowning, watching as the rabbit's green eyes flicked to the road and back in front of him.

"Hey, uh… do you.. nevermind," Goldie mumbled, looking ahead again to avoid the look the rabbit gave him. He could practically feel the deadpan expression on the face's rabbit as the insensitive question hung in the air between them, despite his attempt to backtrack it.

"You were about to ask if I mind if you ask what happened, weren't you." It wasn't a question. Apparently he got the question a lot, and Goldie winced at how normal it sounded.

"Sorry, I don't want to be insensitive or anything. You don't need to answer that, that was just me being stupid." The two continued on in a relatively uncomfortable silence. Neither spoke again until the park was in sight.

"It's not a sensitive topic for me," Spring finally told him. "The simplest answer is I don't know what happened. Not really, anyway."

"What do you mean you don't remember?" Goldie looked at him, brows scrunching together and absentmindedly licking his ice cream.

"It's just a blank space," the rabbit explained, staring at his own ice cream. He paused to lick away melted ice cream trying to escape over the edge of the cone. "I just… don't know. My parents told me it was a car wreck when my godfather was driving my brother and I to something like… I don't even know, I think it was a concert. Or some festival." He shrugged, as if saying he didn't really care about the details. For some reason, despite the fact that the rabbit honestly didn't seem to care about his lack of real friends, Goldie got the impression that not knowing what happened to him… that was bothering him. Goldie was sure of it. "All I know is one day I was fine, and the next I wasn't. I don't know the details."

Goldie frowned in thought, noting that meant his parents _weren't_ killed in the accident that gave him his scars. But what about his brother and godfather? "What about the people in the car with you? Are they alright?"

"They survived, if that's what you mean. I got the worst of it, and my godfather came out relatively unscathed. Apparently, anyway."

"Were you wearing a seatbelt?" Spring gave him the most confused look that Goldie had ever seen on his face. "Well, it's just, when I was going to put the car in reverse you just looked like you would hate me forever if I dared to start driving without a seatbelt on."

"I don't know any details," Spring repeated, a little slower this time and enunciating each word. "If I wasn't wearing a seatbelt, I don't remember. All I know is it's stupid to drive somewhere without a seatbelt on."

Goldie couldn't help but flush a bit in embarrassment, and he gave the golden rabbit a sheepish grin. "Sorry."

"It's fine."

The two stopped talking as they reached the park again and walked over to the group of friends, all messing around by the river. Foxy spotted them first and gave a wide grin. "Strawberry, really? So boring!"

The bear pouted and stuck his tongue out. "Sorry, they don't have rum flavor," he remarked snidely. "But hey, I found out Spring has a sweet tooth."

"I do not…!" Spring immediately protested. "I just know how to enjoy desserts, unlike someone whose ice cream is getting all over their hand."

The others laughed as Goldie looked down at his ice cream cone to see it melting all over his right hand. He briefly wondered just how long Spring had waited to tell him about that. "Agh! Dammit!" he cursed, switching the cone to his left hand as if it would help. "This is when having thick fur is so uncool."

"Please tell me you didn't say that on purpose…"

Goldie blinked and looked at the golden rabbit, ignoring the snickers (and a guffaw) from the others. "Say what on purpose?"

"Oh thank god," Bonnie laughed. "That woulda been so lame if you said that on purpose."

"Said what?"

"And then we'd never let him live it down," Bonsai added with a grin towards his brother.

"Guys, what did I say?!"

The others continued ignoring Goldie, instead teasing him with his confusion. Finally, Goldie turned to his fellow golden creature, who was surprisingly still standing beside him with a small, amused smile on his face. "What did I say?"

"Uncool," was all the rabbit said, and after a few moments Goldie smacked his hand to his face.

That was a mistake. He yelped as the melted ice cream on his hand immediately clung to the fur on his forehead, which in turn caused the others to completely break down into laughter; Foxy, of course, had to do the whole point, laugh, and fall on the ground schtick, the dramatic vulpine… Goldie pouted and said, "It's not funny, guys," as his cheeks flushed red in embarrassment.

When Goldie caught sight of Spring's expression, though, he decided the embarrassment was well worth it.

The rabbit was actually laughing- not nearly as loudly as the others, but his mouth was turned up in a smile and his lips were parted, just barely showing the pearly-whites underneath. There was a crinkle at the edges of his eyes that, with enough time, would leave a noticeable "laugh line," and just barely noticeable below the louder laughter of Goldie's long-time friends was the softer, quieter laugh that the rabbit produce.

It was a nice expression and a nice laugh, Goldie decided, and it felt nice that _he_ had elicited such a soft, almost adorable reaction from the rabbit. He wanted to see it more often, even.

"By the way, switching hands doesn't change the fact your ice cream is melting."

"Oh for the love of…!"

* * *

When they arrived back at campus an hour later, Alfred followed Goldie and Spring to their room in order to grab his bookbag from Goldie's bed. Spring didn't really complain, although Goldie got the impression that he didn't like the thought of someone else in the room.

Spring sat down at his desk, opening one of the drawers as he did and pulling out a table-top easel, and Goldie dropped down on his bed and leered at Alfred, leaning against his youngest brother's bag.

"I claim this bag now," he said with a laugh, watching Alfred huff.

"We're not twelve, Goldie, hand me the bag or I'm stealing that sheet music you left in the commons yesterday."

"Woah, I left sheet music in the common room?" Goldie immediately sat up, frowning.

"Yeah, I found it this morning on the coffee table," Alfred told him. "Something about birds-?"

A sudden squeak interrupted the brothers, and Goldie looked over at Spring as the rabbit sat up from in his chair, turning around to look at the bears.

"Th-that's mine…!" the rabbit stuttered, looking both embarrassed and horrified. "I-is it still in the common room?"

Alfred stared at Spring, his brows raised in surprise. "Um, yeah, it's on the coffee table." The rabbit leapt up and went to the common room, and Alfred turned to Goldie. He quietly asked, "Why is a studio art student working on sheet music?"

Goldie glanced at the door and saw the rabbit through the crack, ruffling through the papers that had been carelessly left there- either by Spring or by Marion Strings, Alfred wasn't sure, but he knew it wasn't his or Alfred's mess. He gestured for Alfred to come closer, not wanting the rabbit's sharp hearing to pick up their words.

When Alfred was close enough that Goldie felt it was safe, he told him, "I found out yesterday that he's from a family of musicians. Granted, I didn't know that until I talked to him, but he probably knows how to read and write music. Maybe it's a hobby."

He didn't feel right revealing that the rabbit had a guitar. It was one thing sharing something the rabbit had actually told him, but revealing something he knew because he was snooping around? Goldie wasn't _that_ kind of person.

Then the rabbit entered the room, wincing a bit as his shin smacked against Goldie's music stand. _'Note to self; move that before the rabbit gets himself killed.'_

Spring was holding several pages in his hand, much like he had his sketchbooks. He went back to his desk and dropped the pages there, refusing to look at the brothers as he dropped down into his seat. Goldie noticed him subtly rub shin where the music stand hit him. Alfred noticed, too.

"Goldie," Alfred growled. "You're still leaving your stand in front of the door?"

"It's not in front of the door, it's _beside_ the door," Goldie retorted, although it wasn't a very good argument. It _was_ in the doorway, and anyone moving too fast without paying attention would hit it.

Alfred sighed and shook his head. Then he reached around Goldie, snagged his bookbag, and gave a triumphant grin as he ran out the door, narrowly avoiding the music stand. Goldie blinked owlishly at the place Alfred has been standing. Since when had the bear been able to move so fast?

"He's right, you know, you really should move that stand," Spring spoke up from his desk, though he didn't turn his gaze towards the bear. Instead he focused on the empty sketchbook page, his pencil poised to draw. However, he made no move to actually draw.

"I know," he admitted sheepishly. "It just keeps slipping my mind after I finish practicing. It's like… well… you have sketchbooks literally everywhere on your side of the room."

"But no one's going to trip over my sketchbooks," he pointed out, finally glancing over from the still empty page. "And I'm the only one over here."

Goldie raised a brow before standing up and walking over to Spring's side of the room. "And now you aren't."

The rabbit turned to face him, looking both confused and amused. "Brat." Goldie grinned. He was tempted to flop down on the other's bed, but he knew better than that. That was definitely crossing that invisible boundary.

Well, as if he hadn't _already_ crossed it. But still.

Something caught Goldie's eye and he just stared at it. He was silent for a moment as Spring gave him a confused look, and then he said, "Did you _really_ stack sketchbooks up under your desk?"

"You just noticed?" Goldie stared at Spring. "You're not very observant, huh? Those have been there for two weeks."

"What if you kick them? Like I said earlier, you're not exactly short. Hell, you're not even average height, don't you need that leg room?"

The rabbit looked highly amused as Goldie tried to figure him out. The rabbit just watched him expectantly, as though waiting for something, and didn't say a word in response to Goldie's question. It took Goldie a moment more to notice Spring's legs were actually crossed at the ankles, underneath his chair, looping around the swivel chair's single leg.

"... Oh."

"I find this more comfortable," Spring told him, looking back at his sketchbook.

"How many sketchbooks do you have?" Goldie asked curiously, more to change the subject than wanting to know, and peered over Spring's shoulder. "And how long have you been drawing anyway?"

"I don't know and since I was sixteen," Spring answered the questions respectively. "I have a lot of sketchbooks… I have more at home, though… most of them are filled with incomplete sketches and general ideas, though."

"Since you were sixteen?" Goldie blinked, wondering just how long that had been. He did remember Spring mentioning that he had waited a few years before starting college… "How old are you now?"

"Twenty-one. I graduated high school when I was seventeen, if you're wondering."

"Huh. You don't look twenty-one."

"Thanks, I guess. Unless guys are supposed to look older, then oh darn, I can't really bring myself to care." Goldie snorted a bit at that response, watching as Spring began randomly sketching something. He wasn't sure what it was, since it was only just started, but he was definitely curious. Spring didn't tell him to back off, so he stayed there, watching over the rabbit's shoulder.

"I don't really care either. You're old enough to buy alcohol."

"Your point?"

"No point, just saying. All of my friends are around the same age as me. That is, we're all eighteen or nineteen."

"You went to school together," Spring pointed out. "I didn't even attend the same school as you, less go to school _with_ you."

Goldie shrugged. "How do you know we didn't attend the same school?"

"Your van's tag says Cayden, that's two hours away." Goldie blinked, surprised that Spring had noticed such a small detail. He dismissed it, though; as an artist it was his job to watch for details, after all.

"Alright, point. So where are you from?" Goldie considered this for a moment. "Actually, how do you get here? Do you have a car?"

"Of course I have a car," Spring laughed a bit, as though the question was ridiculous. "You just haven't seen it, it's in the norther campus parking lot. And I'm from Harper."

Goldie raised a brow. "Harper? That's across the southern border by… what, forty, fifty miles?"

"Thirty three. Wrong side of forty there."

"So you live at least four hours away. And you're paying out of state tuition then."

"So?"

"Um…" Goldie trailed off, staring at the rabbit. The sketch seemed to be turning into a person, though Goldie didn't recognize the person. It was a rabbit, though, that much was clear from the ears being sketched out. "Only that that is a long way to drive every holiday, and this school is really expensive even for in-state."

"This is the school my parents attended," Spring told him. "When I was born they had set up a college fund. They did the same with my brother. It's only natural I go to the school they wanted me to, right?"

Goldie frowned a bit. "It's natural for you to go to the school _you_ want, not the school your _parents_ want."

Spring fell silent for a few moments, his hand stilling above the page. He seemed to be thinking over something, though Goldie wasn't sure whether or not he was thinking over his words.

"Well," Spring began, a bit slowly, as though thinking about how to word his thoughts. "I've wanted to come here for as long as I can remember… but the original plan was going to be music, not art," he admitted, still just staring at the sketch in front of him.

"You were going to go into the music program?" Goldie asked him, brow raised in surprise. Of course he knew the rabbit had a guitar and knew how to play, but that didn't mean the rabbit was originally going to be a musician. "I wasn't expecting that. Why'd you change your mind?"

There was another short silence before Spring softly told him, "I gave up on music years ago and found myself in art. That's all there is to it."

The bear stared at the rabbit silently for a few moments, his eyes flicking over to the guitar case buried under sketchbooks for a split second. The rabbit, eyes still trained on the page in front of him, didn't notice, much to the bear's relief.

"I don't believe that," Goldie finally said, keeping his own voice gentle and quiet. "I think music meant too much for you to just give it up, and I think it still does. So there's a different reason you went for art instead. But it's okay, you don't need to tell me. It's not exactly any of my business. The sketch looks really good, by the way. You're really talented."

Spring stayed silent for a moment or two before glancing over his shoulder, but the bear was already on his own bed pulling papers out of his bag. Spring wasn't sure how to respond to the bear, and the silence simply dragged on until it would be awkward to answer. It was a few moments before he turned back to the picture, letting his hand fall away from the easel. Then, hesitantly, he turned his gaze down to the covered guitar case, lying oh so innocently at the foot of his bed beside the desk. That guitar, which had been given to him so many years ago when he was still too small to properly play it… That guitar that he just couldn't leave at home...

Didn't given up music, indeed.

 **-END ARC II-**

 **And this also marks the end of what I'm writing for this. This will not be continued in this story. The rewrite is going to be posted separately and it will differ drastically from what has happened thus far in this story. It will still be titled "Silent Songbird, Sing for Me." The pairings will remain the same, though I've decided I'm not interested in a Phone Guy/Non-murderous Purple Guy arc so I may drop them. We'll see.**


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